


Consolation

by thesometimeswarrior



Series: Two Hundred Words for Two Hundred Fics! A Celebratory Fic Prompt-Fest! [19]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Double Drabble, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Mental Breakdown, Pre-Canon, Spirit World, Spirits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 05:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30050319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesometimeswarrior/pseuds/thesometimeswarrior
Summary: The urban landscape turns to wilderness, and the days become colder, and still Iroh runs.My son, my son, my son, give me back my son!
Relationships: Iroh & Lu Ten
Series: Two Hundred Words for Two Hundred Fics! A Celebratory Fic Prompt-Fest! [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1567093
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Consolation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [klainelynch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/klainelynch/gifts).



> **Prompt: Would you be interested in writing Iroh? Maybe something with spirits/spirituality?**
> 
> —
> 
> cw for a mild blood mention.

The urban landscape turns to wilderness, and the days become colder, and still Iroh runs.

_My son, my son, my son, give me back my son!_

He discards the regalia of his uniform early on; by the time the Solstice arrives, he is dressed only in his undertunic, ragged after months. It’s not enough for the bitterness of a Northern Earth Kingdom winter, but, then, his bones have been chilled since he left Ba Sing Se.

_Give me back my son!_

Strange phantoms shake their heads at this request, some of them smirking at him, some _laughing_. He falls to his knees. 

_Please take me, and give him back, give him back, it is my fault, mine!_

Still, they laugh.

(They say the barrier between the worlds is weakest on the Solstice, that sometimes unwitting travelers cross through. But, then, he’s been seeing specters for months.)

Not every presence is cruel. Some see him clenching his hands— _red with blood, so much blood on his hands, Lu Ten’s blood, so many others’, on his hands, his fault_ —and grip them softly, nuzzle themselves into his flesh.

“ _You will survive this_ ,” they whisper, loud as lightning. “ _You’ll see. You will survive_.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a couple years since I wrote a really angsty Iroh piece! Thanks so much for the impetus to do it! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! I love comments!
> 
> \--
> 
> This is part of a series of double drabbles I'm writing to celebrate having written 200 fics on ao3!
> 
> I'm accepting prompts in the following fandoms:
> 
> 1) Steven Universe  
> 2) Avatar: The Last Airbender  
> 3) Gravity Falls  
> 4) Tanakh or Talmud


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